


small mercies

by fizzyguy



Category: One Piece
Genre: Mugiwara no Ichimi | Straw Hat Pirates, Nakamaship, Romance, Self-Indulgent, if you want it to be, if you're injured maybe don't work out zoro, injuries, innapropriate care of injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:27:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28563510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fizzyguy/pseuds/fizzyguy
Summary: you spend your nights on the deck.zoro joins you.
Relationships: Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates & Reader, Roronoa Zoro & Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	small mercies

The nights are always quiet. A peaceful nothingness with only the sounds of the wind and sea to accompany you. It was louder now than it used to be, more and more friends being brought in from all over the sea. 

The days are hectic, so you usually come out onto the deck while everyone sleeps so you can have some peace for a while. 

The night sky looks like its pushing down on you, a comfortable weight on your shoulders that feels freeing and terrifying all at once. How small you are, compared to the vastness of the cosmos.

Glittering stars blink down at you, silent but speaking more words than you can comprehend, always watching, presences that remain even when the sky is covered with a blanket of clouds.

You don’t move your gaze from the sky, in the hours that you sit there on the deck.

For as long as you have been here, though, you always end up with company a few minutes after midnight. The swordsman always makes sure to open the door quietly, despite the fact that the crew’s snores wouldn’t give any other sound a chance to be heard. 

At first, he used to be wary, the both of you unused to each other, the silence between you awkward and stifling at times. When he worked out, it was at a distance, as far as he could, you guessed, to avoid breaking the little bubble of atmosphere around you, as you contemplated your place in the universe.

Eventually, night by night on the ship, after battles fought and meals shared, he would bring himself closer to you. Little by little, he would come closer, gently pushing himself into your space until you told him to stop and give you space. 

You never did.

Soon, the sounds of the wind and sea were often accompanied by Zoro’s grunts as he pushed his body to new limits. He was never more than a few meters from you, the both of you being yourselves, alone in each other’s company. The emptiness the night pressing down on you felt a little less empty.

Some nights are different, small instances of caring in amongst the spaces you two share. You were left injured at the end of the day, the enemies you face on the sea becoming more lethal than the last. You were keeping up, but only barely. You were left barely able to move, confined to a small room on the ship. You listened as the sound of your friends lessened, until only the sound of snores pushed through the walls. 

The clock on the wall ticking was your only company. You lay there, alone and quiet, until the door creaked open at a few minutes past midnight. 

Zoro wasn’t unscathed. His own injuries giving him grief. He had a blanket in his hands, and his swords on his hip. Your eyes bore into his own as he moved closer. His hands gently lifted you from the bed, into his waiting arms. You looked at him, the smile growing on your face as he carried you out of the room.

The night air was biting but refreshing, your eyes unmoving from his face. His cheeks weren’t red, he had already come to terms with what he wanted to do. He had gotten too used to your company, he enjoyed it, actually. So, when he worked out, you were supposed to be there, it just didn’t feel right otherwise. 

Zoro gently sat you at your usual spot on the deck, waiting until you leant your back against the wall. He unfolded the blanket, throwing it over you and spending a couple minutes fussing around, making sure you were covered enough to keep you warm.

Your cheeks were starting to hurt from the smile on your face. You watched and watched as he moved away, beginning his usual workout. You could barely contain your joy, every few minutes he would glance over and check on you. It felt like it was going to burst out your chest.

You pulled your eyes from his form to look at the sky. The stars twinkled down at you knowingly. 

Zoro’s workout was more straining to him than his usual, which was unsurprising, his injuries were giving him some trouble. You listened as he pushed through it, his grunts of effort being accompanied by the occasional groan of pain. 

When he finished, you expected him to take you back to that small room. You looked to him in surprise as he plopped down next to you. His heat was like being next to a furnace, and unthinkingly, you moved closer to sap some of his body heat.

He was sweaty, and a few of his bandages were spotting blood, and honestly, he thought you would keep your distance, or maybe nag him about his injuries. But when have you ever showed any hesitance of being near him?

Zoro let you move closer, relaxing as you pressed your blanketed shoulder into his. His head tilted back, resting against the wall at your backs. 

It was quiet between you for a while, nothing but the sounds of the sea and slow breathing filling your ears. It was a still night, the sky empty of clouds, letting the moons unwavering gaze fill you. 

“Zoro?” you ask into the night air, your gaze holding onto the stars. He grunts. “Thank you.”

“Ah,” he says, closing his eyes and resting. 

You press the back of your hand onto his. His palm opens, and you fill it with your hand. 

The nights are always quiet, filled with the sounds of the wind and sea, and the sounds of Zoro. The emptiness of the night presses down on your shoulders. The night air is biting, cold pushing into your lungs, but at least your hand is warm. 

The stars are always watching, and you grin up at them as a head slowly lands on your shoulder.

…

Bonus:  
The cook sighed from his lookout position, bringing his cigarette to his lips. It had taken a while for you to warm up to the crew, and he had watched you closely when you first arrived. 

The more extroverted members of the group had basically forced you to take to them, but people like that Moss head and Robin, take things a little slower in getting to know someone.   
The whole crew was very open about physical contact, and as it turns out, you were no different. He exhaled, smoke filling the cold night air.

He wasn’t going to lose to that stupid swordsman.

**Author's Note:**

> hey y'all, hope you're doing well  
> i spend my days realizing that the chance of me being touch starved is more and more likely.  
> hope you enjoy, constructive criticisms and comments welcome ^.^


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